Closed loop recycling, (i.e. recycling materials for use in their original application) is not a viable alternative for post consumer, high density polyethylene, milk container resins due to, in part, the inability of of these resins to meet FDA regulations for food contact applications. A logical use for post consumer, high density polyethylene, milk container resins is in containers for household and industrial chemicals. However, the physical requirements for these types of containers are much greater than the physical requirements for high density polyethylene, milk container resins. Consequently, solutions to this problem should be found.
Currently, the typical approach is to blend non-virgin resin with a high performance virgin resin. This usually results in a blend with intermediate physical properties. The drawback is that the broadening of the molecular weight distribution resulting from blending these two resins increases the die swell of the blend beyond the desired range.